On 04-09-09, the Indiana Senate passed Senate Resolution 42 (SR0042) to claim “sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.”

Whereas, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States specifically provides that, â€œThe powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the peopleâ€;

Whereas, The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being those powers specifically granted to it by the Constitution of the United States and no more;

Whereas, Federalism is the constitutional division of powers between the national and state governments and is widely regarded as one of America’s most valuable contributions to political science;

Whereas, James Madison, â€œthe father of the Constitution,â€ said, â€œThe powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, [such] as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the peopleâ€;

Whereas, Thomas Jefferson emphasized that the states are not â€œsubordinateâ€ to the national government, but rather the two are â€œcoordinate departments of one simple and integral whole. The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch of the same governmentâ€;

Whereas, Alexander Hamilton expressed his hope that â€œthe people will always take care to preserve the constitutional equilibrium between the general and the state governments.â€ He believed that â€œthis balance between the national and state governments forms a double security to the people. If one [government] encroaches on their rights, they will find a powerful protection in the other. Indeed, they will both be prevented from overpassing their constitutional limits by [the] certain rivalship which will ever subsist between themâ€;

Whereas, The scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be limited in its powers relative to those of the various states;

Whereas, Many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and infringe upon Indiana’s reserve powers and the people’s reserved powers;

Whereas, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States , 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

Whereas, A number of proposals from previous administrations and some now being considered by the present administration and from Congress do infringe on the States’ reserve powers and the people’s reserved powers, and may further violate the Constitution of the United States; Therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

SECTION 1: That the State of Indiana hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.

SECTION 2: That this Resolution serve as a Notice and Demand to the federal government to maintain the balance of powers where the Constitution of the United States established it and to cease and desist, effective immediately, any and all mandates that are beyond the scope of its constitutionally delegated powers.

SECTION 3: That all compulsory federal regulation that directs Indiana and her sister states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions, or directs states to pass conforming legislation under threat of losing federal funding, be prohibited or repealed.

SECTION 4: That the Secretary of the Senate immediately transmit copies of this Resolution to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, the Majority Leader of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of each state’s legislature of the United States of America, and each member of Congress from the State of Indiana.

â€œâ€¦..the act become the theme song of the tea parties taking place around the nation. â€

â€œHe urged his colleagues to join him in â€œsupporting a review and a criticism and an evaluation of the proper role of the Federal Government in order to empower the American people and to distribute power as the Constitution contemplated it.â€

While, an intersting to update on federalism. This is a cermaonial act unless the state plans to return all federal money not specifically authorized. Without specifics this is simply populist poppycock and posturing. Cute…. achieve nothing more than the threat of legal action. The state of indiana has rekinled the fire of states rights but only out of desperation.

speaking as a hoosier, i can say with certainty that indiana should NOT be declaring itself “sovereign”. indiana is one of the most dysfunctional, backwards places in the country. not to mention that most people that live here are half-retarded. if any state needs the help of the federal government, its indiana.

Go get them Indiana. To bad you fought so hard to overthrown states rights in the 1860’s. Finally figuring out the error of you ways 150 years to late. Well better late than never.
“Of what importance is all that, if I range men firmly within a discipline they cannot escape? Let them own land or factories as much as they please. The decisive factor is that the State, through the Party, is supreme over them regardless of whether they are owners or workers. All that is unessential; our socialism goes far deeper. It establishes a relationship of the individual to the State, the national community. Why need we trouble to socialize banks and factories? We socialize human beings.”
Adolf Hitler 1927/28

Bush was not the starting point for this constitutional mess we’re in. In fact, he wasn’t even the biggest culprit. The effect of the 10th amendment and the power of the state and local governments has been eroding for decades if not centuries.

It is a shame a bill such as this had to be passed at all. The law already exists in our constitution; it seems ludicrous that we would have to pass more laws to simply remind people about existing ones.

So basically the Indiana Senate wasted valuable time and taxpayer resources to draft up a resolution restating what was already guaranteed by the 10th Amendment, not to mention reiterating material from any 8th-grader’s Government History books… I find it ironic that in this resolution they completely miss the point stated by their quoting of the Forefathers of this country that State governments and the Federal government are meant to work in partnership for the betterment of all. I also find it telling that at the last the specific recipients include the Majority Leader of the United States, which is now a Democrat, but not the Minority Leader, currently a Republican.

When the Republicans were in charge of the Administration and both Houses of Congress, some of the most blatant violations of the Constitution and State’s rights occurred. The full extent of it has only just begun to be realized as the current Administration is now releasing data kept from the public until now. Bush was easily a few steps from creating a totalitarian regime, yet where was the hue and cry then? Thus far Obama has been moving to largely reverse or counter many of the policies and regulations put in place by Bush’s Administration, but Bush had 8 years to put his stamp on the White House. Obama hasn’t even had 6 months yet to undo all the damage he caused, and he’s still having to deal with the economic fallout and wars that Bush’s office left behind.

This particular gesture on the Indiana Senate’s part strikes me as unconstructive, wasteful, and petulant. Instead of proffering up an article that restates items and powers already laid out for over 100 years for them, they should instead be focusing on re-establishing that partnership with the federal government. At least this administration has thus far shown itself willing to listen to others and work with them. Instead of sulking in a corner and declaring that we’re going to play with our own toys, how about we all come together and try and find a mutually beneficial solution out of this morass, as our forefathers and several past generations of this country have done before us?

I hope they do gain sovereignty so we can bomb them back to the stone age. We, the coastal elites, hate the midwest and all it stands for (except abstinence only education and teen pregnancy). Maybe then, and only then, we can get the great Peyton Manning.

Alex Jones? Are you kidding me? Yeah, the man has a few points, too bad he doesn’t know when the truth stops.

Good news here though. To the commenter who said something about it being a black guy who’s fucking it up now, I ask, why is it such a big deal? I don’t think it’s just the fact that he’s a black guy. The country is becoming ever more watchful, constantly knit picking and criticizing after being ass raped by the previous administration.

I mean, yes, it’s still happening, our civil liberties are STILL going out the window, but under a much more watchful eye, and an increasingly more stubborn civilian population is emerging. The new generation (1990’s) is ready to reform and beat the ever loving piss out of the “Cold War” mentality that’s been haunting this country and the world since the 60’s. Probably not this administration, even though it’s doing a sorta kinda good job at the moment, probably not the next, but by the one after, the playing field will be much more balanced than it is now. A major issue is the “Money Gap” in the States, and everywhere, but as resources start getting slim, the middle and lower classes are getting more and more restless and intolerant of frivolous spending by big corporations, the upper class and our government officials. The upper classes are becoming more and more aware of this and are “toning” it down, knowing that they’re outnumbered and outgunned. They’re horribly afraid of a class war. When it comes down to it, the upper class knows that they could be ousted at any moment, the lower classes are realizing that they really don’t need to be repressed like this, and that the gov’t is working for the corporation, not the little guy anymore.

A lot of people here are whining to the extent of “where was Indiana when Bush was destroying the country,” and blah blah blah.

It really doesn’t matter. People are getting a wake up call NOW and that’s all that matters. Better late than never. When people realized that the government had its own agenda apart from the people’s, when they saw their government spend the country into ruin, when they saw the current administration behave in ways exactly like the one it replaced, their eyes began to open.

It’s not just Indiana. It’s 28 other states and counting. Revolution 2.0 is underway.

I’m from Illinois, we have a lot of bridges and roads that need to be repaired, so we will take the money that you will be refusing. Also, we’ll take your title 1 poverty funds for our schools – that would be great as my kids need the books that your kids wont be getting.

Austinite:
I know for a fact that what you say is not true in this respect, the Senator who sponsored this resolution was not in the Senate during W’s administration except for the last year. He is very concerned about what Bush was doing. The guy he replaced was a RINO with 30 years seniority who was a leader and doing a lot of spending himself. One election cycle changed things, and SR0042 happened. He didn’t exactly endear himself to other Republicans by removing a 30 year seniority leader during the primary. Also had lots of opposition during the general election. He’s been fighting hard for several years to get to this place, and without support of his party.

Montana already passed the same legislation. It is awaiting the governors signature. This is expected in the next ten days. They are also planing on eliminating the Federal gun laws by making guns in Montana to be sold in Montana. Maybe the bells of freedom are finally beginning to toll. To bad it took 21 years of Federally mandated garbage to bring this about. For all the b not so brights out there. This has very little to do with Obama. It is about the oppression of a free people. Are you an adult or a child of the Fed?? I am glad to see more people starting to do something.

ps There are 28 other states with almost the exact same legislation pending. By what authority does a government official fire the CEO of a private company??? This is an outrage, and completely UN-American

I have been a Hoosier all my life and have never been so proud. When a small mid western State takes the time to remind the Federal Govt. that we will reserve our rights granted to us under the Constitution, that makes me proud.

To respond to chgotchr I’ve been to Illinois and driven on your roads and I would say that you are correct that you are in dire need of Fed money to repair them. It is a shame that your corrupt State Govt. will pocket that money and as a result, the roads will never be repaired.

This action in Indiana, along with the resentful and indignant comments left here, indicate how polarizing and divisive the new administration is. Expect more rebellious populist actions and movements to pick up steam across this nation as this administration moves to grab more and more power away from the people and the states.

Rob says: “speaking as a hoosier, i can say with certainty that indiana should NOT be declaring itself â€œsovereignâ€. indiana is one of the most dysfunctional, backwards places in the country. not to mention that most people that live here are half-retarded. if any state needs the help of the federal government, its indiana.”

Wow! I am an Hoosier also and I must say that this is one of the most “retarded” things I have heard. Rob, you must be speaking from experience. Your family maybe? Most people that come from out of state that I work with find Indiana and hoosiers very friendly. Indiana is also one of the free states, compared to say, Illinois. I would rather live free than be told what to do by people like Rob.

For all of you that keep going on and on about the last 8 years, these resolutions have been in the works for some time and it is because of the last 15 or more years that this has come about. We are tired of the states being told what to do and spend by the Feds.

For all of you that are going on and on about white and black and racism, it has nothing to do with that and only shows how you think in racist terms. Get off of your high horse.

Yes! Please Indiana and the 28 other states… while the US is in its greatest crisis since ww2, please continue to tear at the fabric of unity, flummox and deter the only hands that can repair things!

Politicians are politicians, in Indiana or in DC. At least in DC, they are nominally responsible to the whole country, and have to think in terms of EVERY state. Are there things the state needs to handle? Sure. Are there things that the fed should be doing? Yes. Are these different to a degree then they were when the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution? I’m no expert, but I think a lot of things have changed and evolved in the past 200+ years.

And for those that are clamoring for more of this, and your Revolution 2.0, and fighting amongst ourselves instead of solving our problems and keeping an eye on our place iin the world… China says thank you.

For all of you that keep going on and on about the last 8 years, these resolutions have been in the works for some time and it is because of the last 15 or more years that this has come about. We are tired of the states being told what to do and spend by the Feds.

For all of you that are going on and on about white and black and racism, it has nothing to do with that and only shows how you think in racist terms. Get off of your high horse.

To those who live in Indiana and say that the State shouldn’t enforce its Sovereignty, I have a question or two for you to consider.

Do you really think the Lower (aka Federal) Government really has a clue about what you state needs? Wouldn’t the people that live there have a better idea of how to govern themselves?

For those who are saying things about secession or declaring Sovereignty, you’ve missed something. The Tenth Amendment guarantees that Sovereignty already. The States created the Federal Government as its agent via the Constitution. Currently the Federal Government has committed multiple Constitutional violations. Primarily in the 2nd, 9th, and 10th Amendments. It is long past time for those violations to stop.

HUZZAH, Indiana! But take a real step and do not send to the Feds the taxes illegally mandated and do not accept the pork dangled in front of your eyes.

Make them come to YOU… they are not going to back away from their thievery, especially not Liberals. Stop sending them the money, otherwise all the acts and bills in your legislative chambers are just paper.

speaking as a hoosier, i can say with certainty that indiana should NOT be declaring itself “sovereign”. indiana is one of the most dysfunctional, backwards places in the country. not to mention that most people that live here are half-retarded. if any state needs the help of the federal government, its indiana.”